New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays® 2019
Date | Wednesday 12 - Saturday 15 June 2019 |
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Where | Mystery Creek, Hamilton |
Admission Cost | See https://tickets.fieldays.co.nz/tickets/ |
It’s 51 years since the first Fieldays and since then this agricultural showcase has grown year on year to become the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere, attracting visitors and exhibitors from all over the world.
Fieldays charts the massive changes that have occurred in the primary sector over the years and continues to demonstrate how the agri-sector is evolving.
The theme for this year’s Fieldays is ‘Cultivating Value’, and more and more, technology is playing its part on farm and in the creation of products and machinery that will enhance manufacturing and processing.
Check the video below to get an impression of our Fieldays presence this year.
For growers, seasonal labour shortages are all too common, and in time we can expect to see robots doing more of the harvesting of crops. For some years now, the University of Waikato has been working with Robotics Plus Ltd (RPL) in Mt Maunganui as they developed kiwifruit and apple pickers. Recently, the University and RPL have been working on a log scanner and asparagus picker.
You can find out about these two new robots at Fieldays at the University of Waikato stand in the main pavilion. The Waikato stand will also feature 3D printers, ‘making’ asparagus spears’, and visitors to the stand can also find out how technology is being used to improve the health and safety of forestry workers and how one little protein could solve the problem of cattle bloat.
Featured Research
Safer in the forest
Computer scientists Dr Judy Bowen and Associate Professor Annika Hinze and Professor Rangi Matamua from the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies are devising a technological way to keep forestry workers safer on the job. They are developing methods that, for example, will tell workers when they are becoming tired, or are dehydrated. So far, a shirt with sensors, a smart-shirt, is looking like the best option.
With exceptional help given by Nik Jessop from WorkSafe New Zealand, they’ve been holding hui in Northland with workers from Lloyd Logging, Johnson Training Services Ltd and Ngati Hine Forestry Trust. These are facilitated by Erina Korahina from the Centre for Health in Tauranga, and involve talking with workers and their whānau and running design activities with them in what’s called participatory design.
Making a difference to global sustainability
Erin is designing robots that will help solve the world’s challenges. She always loved trying to figure things out so she studied electronics and software and now works at Robotics Plus. Their mission is to develop products that help solve challenges such as labour shortages, sustainability, pollination and security. Her belief is that engineering can make us healthier and happier.
Latest News
Battling cattle bloat
For years scientists have been trying to find out why cattle get bloat. It’s one of the most common causes of death in adult animals. University of Waikato and AgResearch scientists have joined forces to research why some cattle are more susceptible than others.
Scanning logs the fast way
All those logs you see on trucks crawling over the Kaimais to the Port of Tauranga need to be weighed and measured to account for the volume of timber on each truck. Done manually, it’s a long and slow process, but engineers at the University of Waikato and at Robotics Plus Ltd (RPL) in Tauranga have developed a log scanner that does the same job quickly.
Fighting biosecurity threats naturally
New Zealand’s primary industries face a continual threat of biosecurity breaches, but two University of Waikato chemistry students believe there could be natural ways to mitigate the risks posed by bacterial pathogens in agriculture.